1. Forget it

You knew this was coming. It’s Penn State, it’s another punch in the gut, it’s the vogue thing to do.

The popular Week 1 upset: Ohio (the Bobcats, not Buckeyes) over Penn State.

Look, Penn State lost a few talented players. And Penn State has had an offseason unlike any other. But with all due respect to the job Frank Solich has accomplished at The Ohio U., let’s not forget that the strength of the PSU program now is its defense.

Of Penn State’s five best players going into this season—including tailback Silas Redd (now at USC)—four were on the defense: DT Jordan Hill, LBs Mike Mauti and Gerald Hodges and CB Stephon Morris. Forget about Ohio and its funky offense; Penn State has legitimate Big Ten stars—and future NFL players—on its defense.

If the Lions are in the right frame of mind—and after nearly nine months of hell, how could they not be ready to hit someone else?—Ohio will have problems even scoring. Meanwhile, coaching on the other side of the ball has increased exponentially. Translation: Your upset of Penn State isn’t this week.

Understand this about new Penn State coach Bill O’Brien: He’s an Xs and Os guy; he’s a coach who finds weaknesses and exploits them. He’s also a game tape junkie; pouring over cutups of opponents. A bonus for O’Brien is Penn State’s strong offensive line, an underrated group that helped pave the way for Redd’s success last season.

O’Brien loves new tailback Bill Belton, a converted wide receiver who runs hard and will give QB Matt McGloin another option in space coming out of the backfield. And that brings us to McGloin.

Let’s face it, it’s not like McGloin was getting elite coaching the last few years. The Penn State offense was basic and vanilla and set up any quarterback—much less a former walkon—to fail. O’Brien will have him ready to go, and unlike the previous staff, will set him up to succeed with schemes and play calling. Ultimately, it’s about players. Penn State still has better personnel than Ohio.

Now, next week for the Lions at Virginia …

2. Hope in Hoke

Let me try and wrap my mind around this for a moment.

Michigan, everyone, is apparently playing for Big Ten pride this weekend. That’s what we’ve been told day by day, month by month, this offseason.

I’m going to go ahead and ruin it for you right now, while swearing to all that is Maize and Blue, and flatly say Michigan is playing for Michigan. Not conference pride, not for 2013 recruits, not to look better than Ohio (that was for you, Brady) in the first week of the season.

Big Blue has much bigger issues to deal with.

“Our focus is on us,” said Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs, “and being the best we can be.”

That cliché would never normally make it to print. Unless, of course, we dig deeper.

Michigan, despite winning 11 games last season in a remarkable turnaround under first-year coach Brady Hoke, hasn’t beaten anyone with a pulse. That includes Ohio State.

The Wolverines didn’t win their division, didn’t win their conference and are hanging onto a Sugar Bowl victory over a Virginia Tech team that lost twice to Clemson. The same Clemson team that just happened to give up 70 points in the Orange Bowl 24 hours later.

Meanwhile, we give you defending national champion Alabama. The Tide has won two of the last three national titles (would be three of four if not for the freak that is Tim Tebow), and is probably the best team in the nation again heading into this season.

They have better personnel. They have more big game experience. They have an offensive line that could—right now—start in the NFL. All five of them.

To put this “Big Ten pride” on the shoulders of a Michigan program that still is rebuilding; that still is a recruiting class or two away from a truly elite season, is utterly nonsensical. Hoke took a team void of confidence and ill-fitted for his style of play, and won 11 games.

He took a program that, weeks before his arrival, was blown out in a meaningless bowl game by a middling SEC team in Mississippi State that played a linebacker at quarterback. Praise him for the quick turnaround—but don’t, for the love of Fielding Yost, expect he and his team to carry the banner for a conference that has been chasing the SEC for six years.

The elite of the ACC vs. the middle of the road SEC. Like it or not, this will make a statement about the ACC.

If Clemson can’t beat an Auburn team with zero identity (and a roster full of young, inexperienced talent); especially with NC State losing to a Tennessee team in turmoil, what in the world does it say about the ACC?

Why hold the ACC to a standard and not the Big Ten, you ask? Because NC State and Clemson have experienced teams with talented throwers (Denard Robinson: jump balls)—and because they’re playing SEC teams that will be fortunate to finish fourth in their respective divisions. Instead of playing, you know, the best team in the country.

4. Dirty secrets

Earlier this week during a radio interview, Pinkett said for Notre Dame to be successful, it needs “a few bad citizens on the team. I mean, that’s how Ohio State used to win all the time. They would have two or three guys that were criminals. That just adds to the chemistry of the team.”

This is the dilemma for every program: recruiting academic and/or socially marginal high school players. In other words, recruiting potential troublemakers with elite ability.

No coach will talk about it, but every coach believes he’s the guy who can reach the troubled soul; he’s the one who can help little Johnny see how football (and school) can help him overcome all the bad and reach all the good (NFL, and life after football).

Everyone recruits troubled high school players, or players with potential issues off the field. Even Notre Dame. Let’s not get all high and mighty and think they don’t.

Those programs that find a way to make it all work usually are successful. Those that can’t, lose three of the last five to Navy.